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November 29, 2016 Bosque del Apache NWR, New Mexico

Snow Goose Explosion

Weather is Getting Colder!

Snow Geese

It is getting more difficult to get up and out each morning as the overnight temperatures are now dipping into the teens. The outside thermometer in the Prius actually registered as low as 12 degrees as I drove out the North Loop Road in the Refuge yesterday at 7 AM.

Snow Geese

The freezing weather doesn’t seem to bother the cranes and geese as they continue to overnight while standing in the near freezing shallows in the refuge. The last few mornings they have been seen standing on, not in, the water!

Snow GeeseSnow GeeseSandhill Crane Squabble

The increasing numbers of Sandhill Cranes has led to better opportunities to get some “action” shots as they squabble over who gets to feed where. These brief battles occur so quickly, and unpredictably, that I rarely can react quick enough to catch the action …

Sandhill Crane Squabble

… but every now and then, I am aiming in the correct direction and manage to catch some of the action.

My daily routine lately has been to get myself out to the North Loop corn fields just as the sun comes up, set up my tripod and pull out my rocking chair, and wait for the cranes and geese to fly in and land to forage. By 10 AM or so the action has usually peaked and the light becomes a little harsh, so I head back home and process images before heading back out to the same location to try and get the birds leaving the corn fields and heading out to their overnight roosts.

Though the dim light makes flight shots difficult as the sun sets, once in a while things align well and a nice shot emerges.

It really is getting a little colder here than I like and I imagine I will be moving farther south sooner rather than later, but it is a little difficult to leave the refuge just when the action is really starting to pick up. But then again, just how many more crane and goose shots do I really need ( or does anyone really want to see ).

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8 thoughts on “November 29, 2016 Bosque del Apache NWR, New Mexico”

Everyone mentions City of Rocks, but don’t overlook Rockhound SP. It is only a few miles south of Demming with nice views to the west. Not sure I want to be there in the summer with the afternoon sun beating down and no shade, but winter was nice. We spent about 3 nights there in Jan 2005.

If you are heading east from Yuma, check out Ajo, AZ and Organ, Pipe Nat Monument. Or do I remember you being there a winter or two ago????

We haven’t been to Quartzite, but from everything I have heard, it is a good thing you are there in early Dec. The month of Jan us supposed to get very busy.

I would have no desire to be here after the crowd arrives, it must be mind bogglingly busy, but right now, it is a quiet, peaceful stop in the desert for a couple of weeks of trying to get caught up.I stay at the ” Roadrunner ” BLM 14 day stay area about 4 miles south of town, and, at least at this time there are very few folks here ( my closet neighbor is 300 or 400 yards away ). Yes, I did have a nice stay at Ajo a couple years ago and also did Organ Pipe. Got lots of nice bird shots at my remote campsite in Ajo.

Suggestion on where to go when you leave the NWR. If you haven’t visited the following NM SP’s near Demming they are worth a visit. Temps can be cool but not as bad as where you are.
— City of Rocks SP
— Rock Hound SP
— Pancho Villa SP
Along the way stop at Elephant Lake. We haven’t been there but have others have enjoyed the area.

A sort cut to Demming from I-25 is to pick up SR-26 at Hatch instead of going all the way down to Las Cruces.

You are the second person this week to suggest City of Rocks, so I will have to put it on my agenda. As I write this I am sitting in the desert outside Quartzsite. After spending more than a month at the Birdwatcher’s RV Park just outside Bosque, with folks slamming doors every morning at 4:30 and neighbors 15 feet away insisting on shining their outside spotlights in my bedroom window all night, dogs barking, nearby trains blaring their horns at all hours, and on and on, I felt I really needed a quiet, peaceful change of pace, so made the 500 mile trip out here to get away from it all. I love the solitude and quiet out here in the desert, and this 14 day stay BLM area has very few folks here right now, my closest neighbor is 300 yards away, and the silence is deafening … and well appreciated. The only lights shining in my bedroom window are from the stars and the sliver of a new moon. I am here to recharge and maybe get a few hummingbird shots before heading on down to Yuma.